Note: Northern Pike have been illegally stocked in Francis Short. If you catch a Northern Pike at Francis Short Pond please REMOVE IT FROM THE POND.

WILLIAMS LAKES:
KAIBAB LAKE — Campground area is open. Main parking lot and boat launch open for day use only. Some trout are being caught. Stocked with 3,600 trout this week and the water temperature was 64 F.

Where: Kaibab Lake
When: 05/03/08
Caught: Rainbow Trout
Technique: Multi Colored Power Bait with glitter 24 inches up from the bottom.
Comments: My wife and I caught the 7 trout in four and a half hours. My wife had not been fishing since she was a child.
Name: Wesley Peacock

CATARACT LAKE — Campground is open. Lake is open for walk in fishing. Some fish being caught on flies and worms. Recently stocked.

DOGTOWN LAKE — Campground area is open. No Report Some browns are being caught on lures. Stocked with 4,049 trout last week and the water temperature was 62F.

JD DAM — Road is open.

RUSSEL TANK – Recently stocked.

Where: Russel Tank
When:05/03/08
Caught: Rainbow Trout
Technique: Power Bait and spinners.
Comments: Average 10 inch, limit out within an hour. Locals were doing just as good. I will be headed back up there for the second opening day for Spring Turkey, if I can’t seal the deal with Mr. Tom I’ll just catch some trout.
Name: Gilbert

WHITEHORSE LAKE — Stocked this week with 2,700 rainbows and the water temperature was 61F. No report from anglers. Campground area is open. Lake is open for walk in fishing. Lake is full.

Where:white horse
When:05/19/08
Caught:trout and crappie
Technique:all types of lures
Comments:caught and released well over 100 fish in two days of fishing all stockers nothing with any size but had a blast and I’m sure this next cold front will mess up the fishing for the memorial day weekend
Name:JARED PENSINGER
FLAGSTAFF LAKES:
LOWER LAKE MARY — This is still a trout-catching hot spot. A total of 28,000 trout have been stocked into the lake fishing is fair to good depending on the wind.
Angler reports:

Where:Lower Lake Mary
When:05/25/08
Caught:Trout
Technique:Worms with bobbers
Comments:Great fishing for all, especially the kids. Every cast would get a bite within 30 seconds, it was unbelievable! The trick was hooking them and trying to help watch all the kids’ bobbers. Just about everyone was leaving with their limit!
Name: AlexTheis
Where:Lower Lake Mary
When:05/31/08
Caught:18 Trout
Technique:Worms about 3′ off of a bobber with a weight about 1.5′ from the hook.
Comments:From the first cast to the last we were getting bites galore. They were small but they tasted great, I think in a couple months these guys will be much bigger. There were worms under every rock my boys turned over.
Name:Lance Plummer
Where:Lower Lake Mary
When:05/13/08
Caught Rainbow Trout
Technique: Using brown and black flies with a fly bobber.
Comments: I went down to the lake the day after that storm front went through and it snowed. I was not sure what I was going to catch but when I got to the lake I thought it was raining. Turns out it was all the trout eating the little gnats that were on the surface. I fished for about 2 and half hours and caught over 100 fish. I was just having fun. The sizes ranged from 8″ to over 12″. This is the hot spot in the northern lakes. One more thing more: bring bug spray.
Name: Walter Sprengeler, Jr.

Where: Lower Lake Mary
When:05/03/08
Caught: Trout — 8″ – 1′-2″
Technique:1/8-1/4 oz spoons as well as Power Bait
Comments: The bite was on for a good hour or so, died for 30 minutes and was on again (Like this throughout the day)
Name: Josh

UPPER LAKE MARY — This is still a northern pike hot spot. The lake is full. Some anglers have reported catching huge northern pike on frozen anchovies fished with little or no weight on steel leaders.

Where: Upper Lake Mary
When:05/14/08
Caught: Northern Pike
Technique: Was using silver spinners and spoons.
Comments: I was fishing up by the dam and was not sure if I was going to catch anything. Turns out I landed a few of these monsters. It was fun.
Name: Walter Sprengeler, Jr.

ASHURST LAKE — Stocked this week with 3,600 rainbow trout. The water temperature was 62 F. The lake is full. Some larger hold-over trout are being caught. Recently stocked. The road is open. Some trout anglers are catching northern pike.

Where: Ashurst lake
When:05/10/08
Caught: caught limit of trout. one big rainbow. big enough for two.
Technique: used worms with a floater. size eight hook.
Comments: they start biting the first five minutes. it up to you when to hook’em
Name: Ryan Becenti

FRANCIS SHORT POND – Stocked this week with 700 pounds of channel catfish. Fishing was fair to good for trout on flies or Power Bait. Catfish are being caught on night crawlers. Please remove all pike caught to save stocked trout for the anglers!

MARSHALL LAKE — Stocked last week with 900 rainbow trout and the water temperature was 69 F.

Where: Marshall Lake
When:05/26/08
Caught:Rainbow Trout
Technique:I was using a silver spoon and flies with a fly bobber.
Comments: Went to the lake over the weekend and had a great time. Went up there with my fiancée and our son and caught lots of trout. The trout were about 12+ inches long and weighed about a pound.
Name:Walter Sprengeler, Jr.
OAK CREEK — Stocked with 1,800 rainbow trout and the water temperatures ranged from 60 to 70 F. Fishing is generally slow for browns although some large ones have been caught recently, but is okay for rainbows.
Where: oak creek
When:05/09/08
Caught: rainbow trout
Technique: pink eggs
Comments: caught 13 in 30 minutes lost 3 and kept my limit
Name: dwight gower

Where: Oak Creek
When: 05/04/08
Caught: 1 tiny stocker
Technique: Flies, nymphs
Comments: Walked nearly all of the hot pools up the creek (above Slide Rock) didn’t see any of the stocked trout. Most likely b/c it was the weekend.
Name: Nathan

Where: Oak Creek
When:04/16/08
Caught: Rainbow trout, brown trout
Technique: Different colored Power Baits and salmon eggs.
Comments: The rainbows were plentiful in places where they were stocked (when you could find them). We caught a few brown trout and caught our limits of rainbows.
Name: Mike McBeath

Where: Oak Creek Canyon
When:04/19/08
Caught: Rainbow Trout
Technique: Spin casting rooster tails
Comments: Fished below slide rock up to the bridge and into the park. Fishing was slow, water is still a bit high. Caught one rainbow just above the bridge in the park. Maybe the fish have not made it to below the bridge as of yet.
Name: Bradley Mihalik

LONG LAKE — Stocked recently with 2,700 rainbow trout and the water temperature was 57 F. Lake is open. Water level is good. Some nice fish are being caught near the ditch.
SOLDIERS & SOLDIERS ANNEX — Lakes are open. No report.
BEAVER CREEK — No reports.

WEST CLEAR CREEK — No report.

STONEMAN LAKE — Low water. NO FISH.

MINGUS LAKE – The seasonal gate across the access road is open. Rainbow trout are being stocked twice a month. Mingus was stocked on May 12 and is scheduled to be stocked again the week of June 2. The best bait has been white Power Bait, fished on the bottom with a treble hook and an egg sinker. Several six-fish limits of trout were caught this way. Fishermen using night crawlers under a bobber are also having some success.

Someone illegally stocked yellow bullhead into Mingus several years ago. These fish compete directly with the trout and keep growth rates very low. If you witness anyone, anywhere, moving fish like bass, bluegill, catfish and stocking them, please report it to our Operation Game Thief Hotline. Illegal stockings cost YOU money!

DEAD HORSE STATE PARK – Trout fishing success has slowed since the last seasonal fish stockings April 1. The best bait has been kernels of canned corn with a split-shot sinker, fished about 3 feet under a bobber. Power Bait fished on the bottom with an egg sinker is also catching a few trout. Largemouth bass fishing is fair. Try using small plastic jigs, plastic worms, or small spinnerbaits near deeper cover. Catfish are scheduled to be stocked prior to June 14 fishing events.
Bluegills are very abundant, but most are small. This is a great opportunity to teach kids how to fish. Try using a #8 hook with a small piece of worm under a bobber and you should have success. While the crappie numbers are up a little, most are small. Look for the crappie fishing to be good late this year or next year. Catfish are scheduled to be stocked the week of June 9.

VERDE RIVER (throughout Verde Valley) – Trout fishing success is waning since the last seasonal fish stockings occurred March 17. A few rainbows are still being taken near Riverfront Park in Cottonwood on night crawlers and dry flies. Largemouth bass fishing is fair. Best bet is throughout the Camp Verde reach using small plastic jigs and in-line spinners. Channel catfish action is starting to pick up in the Verde Valley. Most success on catfish is by using night crawlers and chicken liver after dusk.

LYNX LAKE — Rainbow trout were last stocked the week of May 12. Game and Fish Biologists held a kids fishing clinic on the 17th. This was the fourth year this fishing clinic was held and once again the kids had fun. Nearly all of the kids caught fish. The fishing should improve following this stocking. Channel catfish are scheduled to be stocked in time for free fishing day events on June 14. Trout are scheduled to be stocked again the week of June 16.

Game and Fish Biologists installed PVC fish structures on Jan. 3. These structures should protect small fishes from predation. Some 7-inch brook trout were in February and 5-inchers in September. Game and Fish stocked catfish the week of June 4. There were 200 pounds of bluegill stocked on March 29. Game and Fish biologists surveyed Lynx in May and found that the brook trout stocked in September 2006 were still present.

FAIN LAKE —Fain was stocked with rainbow trout May 12 and is scheduled to be stocked again the week of June 2. While some were doing very well others were not. Try to fish were the water is clearer. Use spinners or bright colored power bait. Fain lake was stocked with brook trout on Feb. 25.

Prescott Valley Parks and Recreation held the annual Gold Fever Days at Fain Lake in mid October, were nearly all of the kids that participated in the fishing clinic caught fish. Five-inch brook trout were stocked in Sept. 24 and rainbows were stocked Oct. 12 & 15.

GOLDWATER LAKE — Trout were stocked on the 18th and the 20th. Game and Fish held the First Fish fishing clinic on Sunday the 18th. Fishing success was good. One angler reported catching a 13- and 14-inch trout in two hours of fishing. While there is no shortage of fish, most people report catching only one or two fish. Try using KastMasters. If that does not work you may try worms or Power Bait. Early in the morning and in the evening the bite may be a little better. Some days the fishing seems to be better than other days as well. Bluegills were stocked Feb 25. Game and Fish biologists weighed a 22-pound channel catfish that was caught at Goldwater in March.

Game and Fish Biologists surveyed Goldwater during the middle of May 2007 and found the trout and sunfish plentiful. While the number of catfish and bass was low, the quality was exceptional. One 16-pound catfish was sampled and released. The bass averaged about 3.5 pounds. On March 29, 2007, there were 400 pounds of bluegill stocked. These fish were hand-sized and should be easily caught. Try using worms or mealworms on a bobber. Small spinners may work as well. If you fish Goldwater and are having luck, please e-mail me at mchmiel@azgfd.gov so I can share your successes with others.